Last week rumors circulated that the BBC was planning to launch a video download store that could give iTunes a run for its money. Now the director of the BBC has confirmed that he plans to roll the service out.

A BBC report on the annoucnement explains that users will be able to download shows for a "relatively modest" fee. BBC director general Mark Thompson explained that he see it as the "digital equivalent" of people buying a DVD of their favorite show for a permanent collection.

He also added that revenue generated from the project would be ploughed back into funding independent production in the UK. It's still not clear how the system will be rolled out globally. [BBC]